Bag machine



H. H. ORR

BAG MACHINE Nov. 19, 1940.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

INVENTOR HUM/f0 0/??? BY ATTORNET H. H. ORR

BAG MACHINE Nov. 19,1940.

Filed Dec. 50, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 19; 194G. ORR 2,222,541

BAG MACHINE Filed Dec. 30. 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A'ITO EY.

Nov. 19, 1940.

. H. H. ORR

BAG MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. .19,

UNITED STATES BAG MACHINE Howard H. Orr, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor toThe Jaite Company, Jaitc, Ohio, a corporation of Application December30, 1937, Serial No. 182,449

5 Claims.

My present invention relates to the manufacture of open mouth gussetedbags and, particularly, although not necessarily, to the manufacture ofrelatively large heavy-duty shipping bags of the type adapted to containup to 100 pounds or more of materials of various types.

Shipping bags of the type discussed above may be formed from paper tubesor blanks of desired size cut from a tube of indeterminant length andmay comprise one or a plurality of plies. Gussets are formed byflattening the tube and folding the edges thereof inwardly. The bottomof the bag may be closed by a line of stitches extending through thegussets. Preferably, the bag is provided with a strip of adherentmaterial, such as gummed crepe paper, extending along the line ofstitches and folded over the end of the bag to prevent sifting of thecontents of the bag through the stitches. This strip of adherentmaterial may be applied to the bag either before or after the line ofstitches is formed therein.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that the material from which abag is to be formed passes through various stages during the process ofmanufacture. In the following description, the word tube is usedgenerically to define the material at any stage of manufacture after theblanks of predetermined size have been cut from the continuous tube.Thus, the word tube refers to a completed bag as well as to anincomplete bag at any stage of manufacture.

In Patent No. 2,017,838, granted October 22, 1935, to W. N. Baker, etal., there is disclosed a bag of the type described above wherein meansis provided to prevent the disarrangement of the gussets in the openmouth of the bag during the filling thereof. A preferred form of'meansfor this purpose comprises fastening means passing through the body ofthe bag and the gussets and located adjacent to and on each side of theopen mouth of the bag. Since these fastening means must be accuratelyand unfailingly applied to the bag in the location contemplated in'saidPatent No. 2,017,838, it has heretofore been necessary to apply thefastening means in a separate, time-consuming operation, performedeither before or after the bottoming operation, which materiallyincreases the cost of manufacture of the bags. For example, one methodwhich has been efn'ployed involves the manual insertion of the gussetedpaper tubes into a stapling machine for the application of the gussetfastening means.

It is an object of my invention to provide a bag machine in which theoperation of fastening the gussets at the unclosed end of a paper tubemay be performed during the substantially uninterrupted progress of'thetube through the machine.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a bag machine in whichthe operations of bottoming at one end and gusset fastening at the otherend of a paper tube may be performed concurrently, or in rapidsuccession, during the substantially uninterrupted progress of the tubesthrough the machine.

It is a further object of my invention to provide-means wherebyfastening devices may be accurately placed at predetermined points oneach of a series of continuously moving objects.

' In accordance with my invention, gusset holding means are applied tothe gusseted marginal portions adjacent that end of a paper tube whichis to constitute the open mouth of a completed bag by means such as anintermittently operable stapling machine. In order that this operationmay be carried out while the tubes are moving upon a conveyor, it isnecessary to time the intermittent operation of the stapling machinewith the progress and spacing of the tubes upon the conveyor. It will beappreciated that the gusseted marginal portions of a tube are spacedfrom each other by a distance substantially equal to the entire width ofthe tube. When a series of such tubes is conveyed through a bagbottoming machine, for example, the conveyor is so arranged that themarginal edges of successive tubes within the series are spaced at aminimum distance in order that the operation of bottoming may beperformed rapidly and econom ically. Thus, the operation of a staplingmachine, for the application of staples in the margins of aseries oftubes upon a conveyor of the type normally provided in a bottomingmachine, must be timed to apply a staple in the leading marginal.

edge of a tube and remain inoperative for the substantial period of timeconsumed by the progress of the conveyor through a distancesubstantially .equalto the width of the tube. The stapling machine mustthen be operated to apply a staple to the trailing marginal edge of thetube. The stapling machine must then remain inoperative for the shortperiod of time consumed by the movement of the conveyor through thedistance represented by the spacing between successive tubes. At the endof this time, the leading edge of the next tube nithin the series willbe in position to receivea staple. It is, therefore, a. more specificobject of my invention to provide means for automatically timing theopbodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same;

Fig, 3 is an end elevational view of the same looking toward the left asviewed in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a part of the machine shown in Fig. 1; and

Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive are progressive diagrammatic illustrations of theoperation of the machine.

Referring now to the drawings in which similar characters of referencerefer to similar parts throughout the several views, the machinecomprises a main frame In upon which the various elements of my novelcombination may be conveniently supported.

A motor M is supported in the frame in and is controlled by a switch boxS provided with an actuating treadle T brought out to a convenientlocation in order that the operation of the motor may be controlled atwill.

The rotatable shaft of the motor M is provided with a sprocket wheel II.A sprocket chain [2 extends overthe wheel II and a sprocket wheel l3carried by a shaft l4 supported in the main frame ID for rotationinsuitable bearings (not shown). The shaft l4 carries a gear I 5 whichmeshes with a gear I 6 carried by a shaft II mounted in suitable rotarybearings (not shown). The shaft I! has fixed thereon a sprocket wheel l8which through a chain I 9 rotates a. sprocket wheel 20 carried by ashaft 2| suitably supported in the main frame. The shaft 2| has fixedthereupon a sprocket wheel 22 which through a sprocket chain 23 drives asprocket wheel 24 fixed upon a, shaft 25. The shaft 25 carries sprocketwheels 26 and 21. The sprockets 26 and 21 serve to support and drive aconveyor comprising belts 28 and 29.

The belts 28 and 29 are continuous and are supported at the opposite endof the machine upon sprockets 30 and 3| carried by an idler shaft 32mounted for free rotation in the main frame of the machine.

The conveyor belts 28 and 29 may comprise a plurality of articulatedseparable sections 33, as shown in Figure 2. Certain of these sectionsmay be provided with cleats 34 which serve to advance paper tubes placedupon the conveyor. It will be understood that it may be desired to formbags from paper tubes of various widths. It is desirable to space thetubes upon the conveyor at a minimum distance for reasons which willmore clearly appear hereinafter. To this end, the number of sections 33lying between successive cleated sections may be varied by the simpleexpedient of removing certain of the sections or adding a desired numberof such sec-- tions. As shown in Figure 2, the over-all length of thebelts 28 and 29 may be greater than that necessary to encompass thesprockets 2G,. 30 and 21, 3| and minor variations in over-all lengthwhich may be caused by the addition of sections 33 or removal of suchsections will result merely in altering the amount of slack existing inthe lower reach of the belts 28 and 29 as they extend between theirrespective sprockets. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a plate I0! issupported on the main frame ID. This plate is slotted as at I01 to allowthe articulating members 33 to depend through the plate while the endsof the sections 33 rest upon the plate. The upper reaches of theconveyor belts 28, 29 are thus supported in a horizontal plane. Whilethe plate I01 preferably extends substantially over the entire uppersurface of the machine, it has been broken away in Fig. 1 to avoidcomplication of the drawing. It will be understood that the plate I0! issupprted in any convenient manner and is provided with suitableapertures for the operation of the various elements of the machine.

The shaft i4 is extended to the right, as seen in Figure 3, and forms adrive shaft for a sewing machine of any desirable type, which isindicated generally by the reference character 35. The shaft Hi carriesa gear 36 which meshes with a gear 37 within the sewing machine andwhich serves to actuate the sewing machine. The stitching mechanism ofthe sewing machine 35 operates continuously and is so located relativeto the conveyor 28, 29 that it forms a continuous line of stitchespassing successively through the ends of a series of paper tubes carriedby the conveyor.

The shaft 25 also carries a sprocket wheel 38 which through a chain 39and sprocket wheel 40 imparts rotation to a stub shaft 4| for rotationin the main frame In. The shaft 4| carries an eccentric cam 42. A camfollower 43 is carried at one end of a two-armed lever 44 which ispivoted at 45 to the main frame l0. Rotation of the cam 42 serves torock the lever 44 about its pivot 45 and to impart a reciprocatorymotion to the end 46 of the lever 44. The end 46 carries a pawl 41 whichcooperates with a notched wheel 48: It will thus be seen that rockingof: the lever 44 will produce a step by step rotation of the ratchetwheel 48. The ratchet wheel 43 imparts its step by step rota tion to arotary shear member 49. The ratio between the sprocket wheels 38 and 40and the convolution of the cam 42 is so chosen that the shear member 49will be caused to sever the line of stitches extending betweensuccessive bags of a series carried by the conveyor 28, 29.

If so desired, a tape 50 may be folded over the end of the tube prior tothe stitching operation. The tape 50 may be provided with an adhesivematerial to secure the same to the tube, if so desired. Thus, a supplyreel 51 may be mounted in any convenient manner upon the main frame l0and the tape 50 may be conducted from the reel 5| to a guide plate 52and into a folding channel 53. It will be understood that the tape 50 isfolded in the channel 53 into a trough-like shape to serve as a seal forthe bottoms of the bags on the conveyor. The shear 49 will sever thetape 50 within the space between successive bags carried by the conveyor28, 29.

A pair of pressure rolls 54, 55 may be provided to press the tape 50into contact with the tube after the tape 50 has been stitched to thetube. The rolls 54 and 55 may be supported in any convenient manner.

A pair. of flattening rolls 56, 51 may be driven at a surface speedequal to that of the conveyor 23 and 29. To this end the shaft 32carries a sprocket "which through a chain- 59 imparts; I rotation to asprocket wheel II. The sprocket wheel 60 is mounted upon a suitablerotatable stub shaft 6| which has fixed thereto the lower thereto apinion 82 which meshes with a pinion 63 carried by stub shaft 54. Thestub shaft 64 also carries a sprocket 85 which through a chain 68imparts rotation to a sprocket wheel 81 carried by a stub shaft 58. Thestub shaft 88 has fixed thereto the upper flattening roll 56.

The structure so far described is conventional and for further detailsthereof reference is here made to patent to Orr, 1,926,241, datedSeptember 12, 1933 and patent to Wechsler, 1,749,118, dated March 4,1930.

The operation of the mechanism thus far described will now be set forth.The upper reach of the conveyor 28 and 28 is constantly driven by themotor M in the direction of the arrows in Figure 1. Gusseted paper tubesopen at both ends are placed successively upon the conveyor 28; 28 incontact with the cleats 34 thereon. One end of each paper tube may begauged against a gauge plate 88 and supported upon the upper surface ofthe plate I81 and frame member l8. The gauge plate 68 is in effect acontinuation of the guide plate 52 and channel 53, above described. Thetubes are progressed through the flattening rolls 56, 51 and to thetape-applying section of the machine. The tape 58 is folded over an openend of each tube and the taped tubes are then progressed to the sewinghead 35. The tubes are progressed through the sewing head and a line ofstitches is placed through the tape and the end of the tube to form thebottom of a bag. The bottomed tubes then progress through the pressurerolls 54, in the form of a continuous series of tubes interconnected bylines of stitching and tape. As the series is progressed past the shear48, the shear operates in such timed relation as to sever the lines ofstitching and tape at points intermediate successive tubes within theseries.

According to my invention, a fastener-applying means is mounted upon themain frame |8 in such a position that it may apply fasteners in thegusseted areas of the ends of the paper tubes opposite to those in whichthe bottom is formed by the mechanism above described. Whilefastener-applying devices of various types may be employed inembodiments of my invention, Ihave chosen for purposes of illustrationto describe an embodiment of my invention in which a stapling machine ofthe type adapted to form and apply wire staples is employed.

In general, the stapling machine includes a stapling head I8 and ananvil H. A supply of wire 12 is mounted upon the stapling head andindividual staples are cut and formed from the supply 12 andare appliedto objects placed between the head and anvil. For the operation of thisstapling device there is provided a continuously operating motor 13 anda single revolution clutch 14. The single revolution clutch I4 isnormally maintained in inoperative condition by a spring pressed slide15. When the slide 15 is pulled downwardly against its spring the clutchI4 is released to connect the motor with the stapling device for theformation and application of a single staple. A two-armed lever 16 ispivoted at TI to the lower part of the stapling head. One end of thelever 16 is pivotally connected at 18 to the slide 15. The opposite end18 of the lever 18 is therefore in the nature of a trigger and upwardmovement of the end 18 will result in release of the single revolutionclutch and operation of the stapling device.

According to my invention, the stapling device thus far described ismounted upon a bracket 88 attached to the main frame IU of the bagmachine. The stapling head extends into the path of travel of the papertubes passing through the bag machine and the end 18 of the lever 18extends into the machine below said path. The stapling device may bepositioned at any convenient point along the path of the tubes as theyprogress through the machine. The operation of the stapling device isextremely rapid and for this reason staples may be applied to the movingtubes without objectionable interference with their movement.

The end 18 of the lever 181s provided with a roller 8| which ispositioned for cooperation with a cam 82 provided with lugs 83 and 84.The cam 82 is mounted upon a shaft rotatably mounted in the main frameI8. The following means is provided for rotating the cam 82 to presentthe lugs 83 and 84 to the follower 8| for actuation of the staplingdevice in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor 28, 28. Theshaft 2| has fixed thereon a pinion 88 which meshes with a gear 81 fixedupon a shaft 88. The shaft 88 also has fixed thereon a gear 88 which isadapted to mesh with one or the other of a set of gears 88, 8| and 82slidably keyed upon a shaft 83. The shaft 83 is rotatably mounted inbearings 84 and 85. The bearings 84 and 85 are adjustably mounted uponthe frame 8 for sliding movement limited by slots 86 (see Fig. 1). Theslots 86 are adapted to receive studs 81 which may be tightened to holdthe bearings 84 and 85 in adjusted position upon the frame I8. Theadjustment just described is for the purpose ofmoving the shaft 83 intoproper position relative to the shaft 88 for meshing of the gear 88 withany one of the gears 88, 8| or 82.

The shaft 83 has fixed thereon a sprocket wheel 88 which through a chain88 imparts r0- tation to a sprocket wheel I88 fixed upon the cam shaft85. The chain 88 is made of suflicient length to allow for theadjustment of shaft 83 relative to the shaft 88. A weighted idler ml isslidably carried in a slotted bracket 82 and bears upon the chain '88 tomaintain the same taut irrespective of the position of the shaft 83.

It 'will thus be seen that the cam shaft 85 may be driven at variousspeeds bearing fixed proportions to the speed of the conveyor 28, 28.

Since the bottoming mechanism hereinbefore described operatescontinuously to apply a continuous line of tape and stitching to thesuccessive tubes within a series carried by the conveyor 28, 28, it maybe seen that the spacing between adjacent tubes should be at a minimumin order to prevent waste of large quantities of tape and stitchingmaterial. To this end, the sections 33 and 34 of the conveyor 28, 28 maybe rearranged for operation upon tubes of any particular width. 4

The cleated sections 34 should be spaced apart In order to secure theapplication of fasteners at proper points on each of the paper tubescarried by the conveyor 28, 28, the'cam shaft 85 must be given onecomplete rotation during the time that the conveyor 28, 28 progresses adistance equal to the spacing between the cleats 34. The variable speedgear set 88, 88, 8|, 82 may be adjusted .as above described to securethis result for any given spacing of the cleats 34.

The lug 83 upon the cam 82 is positioned to contact the follower 8| tocause. operation of the stapling device at the time that the gussetedtrailing edge of a paper tube is in position to receive a staple. Thelug 84 upon the cam 82 is so located as to contact with the follower 8|to cause operation of the stapling device when the gusseted leading edgeof the next paper tube within the series upon the conveyor 28, 29 is inposition to receive a staple.

The lugs 83 and 84 may bear a fixed relationship to one another and beintegrally formed with the cam 82. There may be relatively smallvariations in the width'of tubes which would produce variations inspacing between the trailing edge of one tube and the leading edge ofthe next and such Variations must be met by the substitution of othercams 82 upon which the lugs 83 and 84 are appropriately spaced. Whilesuch substitution may not be objectionable in manufacturing plants inwhich variations in bag width are relatively infrequent, it may bedesirable to provide for adjustability of the cam 82 when frequentvariations are to be expected. In Fig. 4, I have shown one form of camin which provisions are made for adjustment.

In Fig. 4, the lug 83 is carried by a section I05 fixed to the shaft 85as by a key I06. The lug 84 is carried by a section I03 freely rotatableupon the shaft 85 but which may be secured in desired angular positionthereon as by a set screw I04. The lug 83 therefore may bear a fixedrelationship to the cleats 34' for the'application of fasteners to thetrailing edges of tubes in engagement with the cleats 34. Since theposition of the leading edges of the tubes upon the conveyor will varyin accordance with the width of the tubes, the position of the lug 84may be adjusted to cause application of fasteners within the leadinggusseted edges of tubes of variouswidths.

When the change in bag width becomes sufli ciently large to require achange in spacing betweeri cleats 34, the variable speed gear set 89,

' 98, 9|, 92 is adjusted as above outlined. When the cam 82 isconstructed as shown in Fig. 4, it may be necessary to rotate the camshaft relative to its driving means to establish the proper relationshipbetween the fixed lug 83 and the cleats 34. The adjustment of spacingbetween the cleats 34 is necessarily limited to increments equal tothewidth of the sections'33 and the ratios available in the gear set 89,90, 9|, 92 may bear fixed proportions to such increments in order thatthe cam 82 may perform a complete revolution during the progress of theconveyor 28, 29 through a distance equal to the spacing betweensuccessive cleats 34. Since the change in bag width may not bear a fixedproportion to these increments the movable lug 84 may be adjusted toaccurately locate the fasteners to be applied in the leading edges ofthe tubes. I

It is obvious that the lug 83 may be mounted upon a movable cam sectionsimilar to the section I03. In such event, both lugs 83 and 84 may bequickly and accurately positioned for any particular arrangement of theconveyor 28, 29 and any particular width of bag.

The plate I01 serves to support the ends of the tubes which areconducted to the stapling device. The plate I01 is provided with anupturned flange I08 which serves, in conjunction with the gauge 89 andguides 52, 53, to maintain the tubes in accurate alignment as theyprogress through the machine.

The operation of my improved bag machine will now be set forth withparticular reference to Figures 5 to 8 inclusive in the drawings. For

operation upon paper tubes of a predetermined width, the sections 33 ofthe conveyor 28, 29 are rearranged to provide an appropriate spacingbetween cleats 34. The gear set 89, 90, 9|, 92 is adjusted to cause asingle rotation of the shaft 85 during the progress of the conveyorthrough a distance equal to the spacing between successive cleats 34. Acam having lugs 83, 84 properly spaced thereon may be placed upon theshaft 85. However, according to the preferred form of my invention thelugs 83 and 84 are respectively located upon relatively adjustablesections, as previously described, and the lugs 83, 84 will therefore beadjusted to cause operation of the stapling machine at proper intervals.Paper tubes are placed upon the conveyor 28, 29 and are progressedthereby into the machine. When the leading gusseted edge portion III ofthe first tube within the series reaches a position between the staplinghead 10 and anvil 1| the lug 84 contacts the follower 8| to causeoperation of the stapling head to apply a fastener H0 at the pointindicated in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the relative locations of the lugs83, 84 and follower 8|, which occur when the leading edge I is inposition to receive a fastener, are diagrammatically illustrated and afastener III] is shown in applied position. It will'be seen in Figure 5that the tape 50 has been applied to the opposite ends of the papertubes. As the tubes continue to progress the follower 8| drops toinoperative position between the lugs 84 and 83 and the stapling headremains inoperative during the progress of the tubes through theposition indicated in Figure 6. It will be observed that during thisperiod of the progress of the first paper tube within the series, thesewing head 35 may start the application of stitches incident tohottoming'of the tube. When the trailing edge I I3 reaches the positionillustrated in Figure 7, the lug 83 contacts the follower 8| to causethe application of a fastener ||2 as shown in said figure. In theposition illustrated in Figure 8, the first tube within the series hasprogressed beyond the stapling device and the leading gusseted edge 5 ofthe succeeding tube has advanced into such a position that the lug 84-has contacted the follower 8| to cause application of a fastener H4 tothe leading edge H5. It will thus be seen that I have provided means forthe successive application of fasteners within the gusseted areas of theopen ends of a series of paper tubes during the progress thereof througha bottoming machine.

While the above detailed description has been made in order to complywith statutory requirements, it is obvious that those skilled in the artmay make modifications and variations in detail. The above descriptionis therefore to be taken in an illustrative rather than in a limitingsense and it is my intention to claim my invention as broadly aspermissible within the legitimate scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. ma bag machine: a conveyor for progressing a series of flattenedgusseted paper tubes; means for spacing said tubes on said conveyor;means for closing one end of each of'said. tubes while the same arebeing moved by said conveyor; intermittently operable fastener applyingmeans mounted for operation on said tubes adjacent the opposite endsthereof while the same are being moved by said conveyor; and means forcausing operation of said fastener applying means synchronized with themovement and spacing of the conveying means for applying fasteners atpoints adjacent to and on each side of the opposite open ends of thetubes within the area of the gussets.

3. A process for making bags comprising: progressing a series offlattened, gusseted paper tubesat uniformspeed and with uniform spacing;forming a complete closure across one end of each of said tubes whilethe same are progressing; and securing against expansion the gussets ofeach of said tubes adjacent the opposite ends thereof, leaving the wallsof each of said tubes intermediate said gussets unsecured, such securingbeing done while said tubes are being prol'essed.

4. A process for making bags comprising: progressing a series offlattened, gusseted paper tubes at uniform speed and with uniformspacing; forming a complete sewed closure across one end of each of saidtubes while the same are progressing; and securing against expansion thegussets of each of said tubes adjacent the opposite ends thereof,leaving the walls of each of said tubes intermediate said gussetsunsecured; such securing being done while said tubes are beingprogressed. 1

5. A process for making bags comprising: progressing a series offlattened, gusseted paper tubes at uniform speed and with uniformspacing; forming a complete closure across one end of each of said tubeswhile the same are progressing; and

staplingagainst expansion the gussets of each of said tubes adjacent theopposite ends thereof, leaving the wallsof each of said tubesintermediate said gussets unstapled, such stapling being 20 done whilesaid tubes are being progressed.

HOWARD H., ORR.

